a really good story

A couple of years ago, when I was still in school, a friend asked me an important question. To some degree it is the question that the rest of my life revolves around. It is a question that has determined my vocation, the major that I had in school, the decision to date and ultimately marry Donan. The question was, "so how does the whole Jesus dying on the cross thing work? How does that forgive sins?". I froze. I was ready to talk about Jesus' heart for the poor. I was ready to speak volumes about how Jesus doesn't belong to a political party. But this question? I truly was stunned that I had nothing to offer. I told my friend, one of the best friends that I have I might add, a jumbled bit of nothing. I think I rambled about the Jewish people having a system of sacrifice or something like it. And that was the end of the conversation.

As I reflect of this, I think it is too easy to say that I was scared, because to be honest I wasn't. I wasn't scared, like I said this is a really good friend of mine, no matter what I said that wasn't going to change. It is also to easy to say that I had been equipped to answer that question he would've been excited or accepted the answer, because me and this friend debate everything under the sun. The biggest problem is that I believe that the cross and the resurrection, are the most important events in human history. In those three days I believe that for the rest of time and whatever happens after time, we can know that God cares. We can be assured that we can spend time in God's presence. All of the doubts about our worth can be healed. Every question can be answered, every injustice can be reversed and our hearts can find the home that they have thumped in our chest for and longed for everyday since we left our mother's wombs. That is huge. That is really good news. I think it is important that I am able to articulate that, at least as well as I can articulate why Empire is the best Star Wars movie. So here it is, three years late I am going to try and answer my friend's question.

The bad news; all people, everywhere, anytime are sick. Really sick. It is why we fight wars. It is why we rape and murder. It is why we are jealous of each other, objectify each other, feel insecure, blow off each other and ultimately act wrong to each other. We also all are on some level aware of this sickness. We try and cure it with a lot of self-discipline, we try and justify it with humanism and we try and self-medicate by getting drunk and stoned until our heads finally shut up. But it doesn't work, ever. With this sickness our world and our hearts will never know peace. Ever.

This sickness separates us from God. This is the uncomfortable, but ultimately unavoidable reality of our condition. When we try and self-medicate or deny our condition, we are denying God and his power. We are choosing our own. And when we die (which we will, another part of this disease) this good God will not force Himself on us. We are truly sick and need healing to enter the presence of God. Our sickness, uncured will separate us from God. Forever.

Okay so the good news. God was and is not pleased with this reality. So he did something about it. He became a person, Jesus. He lived and taught a better way. The best way. He taught against a rigid and futile self-disciplined and proved it didn't achieve anything. He dwelt with the self medicators and showed them a freedom they never knew. Then he died. He died because as God, he knew that his very real death would work as an antibiotic for our soul sickness. That shed blood is necessary to change our lives, now and forever. Then something even more amazing happened, Jesus did the one thing no one had done since the sickness entered the world, he didn't stay dead. He rose again and told others that they could do the same.

Jesus died, so that we could live. Jesus died to offer us freedom for ourselves. Jesus died to clean the slate, to make us right with God and to give us freedom from our profound guilt. The only condition is to let Him lead us. Follow his way, to give up all of our little tricks and listen to him instead.

That is the answer to the question. That is the case the Bible makes and that is the reason I am who I am and live as I live. That is why I care about justice and care about this world. As the old creed goes;

"I did not make it, for it is making me. It is the very truth of God and not the creation of any man."


*The terms sickness and antibiotic are borrowed R. York Moore. I thank him for his help in articulation.